With individuals and businesses now being able to purchase their own telephone equipment, including telephone desk sets, and use such equipment in conjunction with the telephone system, it is desirable to have a reliable apparatus for connecting and disconnecting such telephone equipment to and from the telephone system. Typically, a number of electrical terminations for the telephone system are provided throughout a business or residence, with each electrical termination being installed in a respective outlet receptacle which is usually wall-mounted. In a majority of the installations in the prior art, the electrical termination simply comprised the ends of a plurality of conductors including a telephone line pair and associated power supply leads (for dial lights and other indicators). Each wall-mounted receptacle was covered by an escutcheon plate having a centrally-located aperture. To install a telephone desk set or other item of telephone equipment, the escutcheon plate had to be removed, a cable from the telephone desk set or other equipment passed through the centrally-located aperture thereof, and the respective ends of the cable and the conductors comprising the electrical termination spliced together. Obviously, such an operation required the services of a telephone installer.
The prior art also teaches an electrical termination comprising a multi-pin female connector having a plurality of electrical terminals for connection to the ends of the telephone line pair and the other leads in the outlet receptacle and adapted to be mounted in the receptacle, with a portion of the female connector being exposed through the centrally-located aperture of the escutcheon plate when the escutcheon plate is reinstalled. Although such female connectors require the services of a telephone installer when first installed, it is clear that the telephone user thereafter can add or remove a particular piece of telephone equipment to and from the telephone system if that telephone equipment is afforded with a cable having a mating male connector.
Such prior art female connectors have, however, been bulky, difficult to initially install, and, most important, non-standard in their configuration, thereby requiring a specific male connector for each type of female connector that is utilized.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an electrical termination for telephone equipment including an improved female connector which is small in size and yet easy to initially install in a wall-mounted outlet receptacle.
It is another object of this invention to provide such an electrical termination which can be easily and inexpensively manufactured, while yet affording reliable connection and disconnection of telephone equipment.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such an electrical termination which includes an improved female connector adapted to mate with a standardized male connector utilized by most telephone companies.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide such an electrical termination including, in one embodiment, an improved female connector combined with an escutcheon plate.
It is still another object of this invention to provide such an electrical termination including, in another embodiment, an improved female connector designed to be installed together with the escutcheon plate of the prior art having a centrally-located aperture.